Jason Garrett on Michael Sam: “This is about football”

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 3, 2014, 11:56 AM EST

AP

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett says the team’s decision to sign Michael Sam to the practice squad has nothing to do with giving a chance to the NFL’s first openly gay player and everything to do with adding a defensive end who can help the team win.

“This is about football. We evaluated him as a football player and felt like he could help us as a football player. We want to see what he can do. Our attention and focus is on football. It’s on getting ready for the 49ers. That’s the culture that we have around here, that’s the culture that we continue to have,” Garrett said.

Garrett noted that bolstering the defensive line is a high priority for the Cowboys, and he stressed that Sam is going to have to prove himself on the practice squad. Garrett noted that reporters were asking him about Sam when the Cowboys have also recently added defensive lineman Lavar Edwards in a trade with the Titans. That move is more important to the Cowboys than the Sam move because Edwards is expected to be active on Sunday against the 49ers.

“We’ve got to be careful about spending too much time on a practice roster player. We traded for a defensive end who’s going to be on our active roster, from Tennessee. We picked up a defensive lineman who we think is going to be on our active roster. So we tried to address the situation,” Garrett said.

Eventually, if Sam succeeds on his merits as a football player, Garrett will get his wish to talk about him solely as a football player. Today, the Cowboys’ press conference was dominated by the historical nature of having the NFL’s first openly gay player.

If it is about football why did they just announce a press conference about signing him. There have been dozens of free agent signings in the past few days. How many of them had press conferences? Oh wait everything about the Cowboys is about the media and publicity and not football so he should fit right in. Jason Garrett should just say “anything in Dallas in NOT about football”

A Press Conference for a practice squad signing. Talk about treating a guy differently… Why doesn’t the media stop? Why doesn’t anyone understand that YOU make it not about football when you feel you have to and then indeed do say “it’s about football,” or when you are asked a question that prompts that answer.

I love all the comments bashing the media for “spending too much time” on Sam. Do you see the irony in you spending your own time to comment on the subject? Ever think if these types of articles had zero comments, the media might decide to post articles that would garner more reader interest?

Is anyone else as tired of hearing about this guy as I am? Here is my problem…pro LGBT people want everyone to stop making a big deal about Sam being gay, OK fair enough. But what happens the second he is cut?? It makes headlines, the Rams cut the gay guy. What about the other 20+ guys that got cut? Then everyone claims that he is just a football player, never mind his sexual orientation….until the Cowboys pick him up….for the PRACTICE SQUAD. What’s the next step, oh….we better have a press conference to announce that we picked up Sam, the gay football player. Wait a sec, I thought it wasn’t a big deal that he is gay, I thought that everyone should view him as just a football player who happens to be gay?? Where is the press conference for the other 9 guys that got picked up for their PRACTICE SQUAD?!?! Anything good happens to him, “he is just a guy playing football who happens to be gay, his sexual orientation should be a non-factor” anything bad happens….”everyone is discriminating against the gay football player.” Either make a big deal about him because he is gay or treat him like every other football player. You can’t have it both ways.

The press conference was called for a PS signee because every major news outlet in the country bombarded the Dallas Cowboys’ offices with interview requests within 5 minutes of the Sam transaction.

This is *exactly* how the Patriots handled the Tebow signing (another guy who would never play a meaningful down with his new team) — almost verbatim — viz Garrett’s and Belichick’s lack of commentary outside of it “being about football”.

Y’all just like to take shots at the Cowboys. I get it. But a little bit of thinking beforehand would go a long way, yeah? Try to at least *pretend* that you’re intelligent, thoughtful, considerate in your comments…

P.S.
Who gives a rat’s backside what Sam’s sexual habits are? I’m sooo tired of oversensitivity regarding race and sex and creed and political affiliation. Can we work together and respect one another? That’s all I care about, and am getting tired of being played by the sensationalist media over this minutiae of the human experience…

Ha!!! News flash Coach–Your team hasn’t been about ‘football’ for the better part of the last two decades so why start now? If your owner was more serious about winning instead of constantly selling & promoting the Cowboys by making a splash with players like T.O. & Roy Williams, he would have hired a real GM/personnel guy. Outside of Dez Bryant your team is a collection of JAGs.

abninf says:Sep 3, 2014 1:07 PM

“the historical nature of having the NFL’s first openly gay player.”
===================================

The Cowboys should just own it. You can say “It’s about football…” all you want, but that is just a bold face lie. As has been posted here quite a bit, if it was just about football then a 7th round pick who was cut, and no other team wanted, wouldn’t be getting a news conference to announce his signing. Own it. Come out (pun 100% intended) and say “First and foremost, we think we can develop him to help our team, but we aren’t to who he is. Michael Sam is a transcendent figure in sports. Our goal is to make him a transcendent player on the field and eventually help this team win a championship.”

I for one am happy about the pick-up as Dallas needs as much help on defense as they can get. Seems like all the starters are already hurt so trying to fill in spots is a must. I think Sam looked pretty good in the pre-season, so hoping for more of the same in the regular season. If/when he gets on the activated list and off the practice squad that is.

You said it. That’s what happens when your owner is P.T. Barnum who built a billion dollar tent w/ the largest HD television screen on the planet called the AT&T Center.

The last time I checked the best owners are always focused on winning. That has always been the case w/ the Rooney family & the Steelers, that was the case w/ Pat Bowlen & the Broncos & it’s the case w/ Paul Allen of the Seahawks.

Even Mark Cuban who loves to promote himself as much as anyone else understands that it’s all about winning in sports.

If this is just about football… you dont have a press conference to announce you signed a player to the practice squad. That said, I am glad that Sam is on a team. He seems to be good enough to be on many if not most practice squads.

I didnt know the HC of the Cowboys was allowed to talk. I thought Jerry did all the talking for that franchise.

eagleswin says:Sep 3, 2014 1:47 PM

vesh31 says:
Sep 3, 2014 1:45 PM
I didnt know the HC of the Cowboys was allowed to talk. I thought Jerry did all the talking for that franchise.

—————————–

You could hardly see Jerry’s lips move when Garrett talked.

colv says:Sep 3, 2014 1:51 PM

No it’s not. Jerry was recently saying that he muffed the little Johnny football on drafting him. He missed out on the ridiculous press this nerdy guy brought with him to Cleveland. This SAMs thing is about the national stage not football and SAMs being a football player. I’m glade for SAMs and sad for the players that might have made it. Dallas is a waste land in football circles and the five ring BS is irrelevant today because of decades of losing. Not Americas Team which they self portrayed themselves. I’m a Ravens fan and having traveled the world and associated myself with thousands of military people and civilians, Pittsburg is Americas Team.

The dude played good during the preseason. Nothing wrong with giving him a chance on the practice squad to see if he can earn his way to the active squad. This wasnt a press confrence to announce signing sam to the practice squad. Wed is the day the team always holds their weekly press conference during the season.

Lol, this reminds me of when the Jets picked up Tebow to be 2nd string, I mean 3rd string QB for the Jets. Threw a press conference and everything for that shmuck, and dude never got a chance. Can we say that someone wants to sell jersey’s? Jerry Jones is still butt hurt about not making millions off of Manziel’s name, so he found an oppertunity to pounce. Classic/vintage Jerry Jones. Ok puppet (aka Jason Garrett) go back to Jerry’s office and see what he wants you to do next… what a joke of a franchise

revskip says:Sep 3, 2014 1:55 PM

Hint – the media will let it go when you stop making every story go bonkers with 100+ comments.

I’m sure he’s better than alot of practice squadders out there. But why would you want the distraction? Oh that’s right..you are the dazzle and the sparkles. Yup. He will fit right in.😉

shlort says:Sep 3, 2014 2:31 PM

No one, no where is going to convince me that Mike Sam being on roster has anything to do with his playing ability.

Sam needs work and he will not get better sitting on the Cowboys practice squad. Sam needed to spend a year training with someone who would help him work on getting light enough to play LB, work on his foot work, get him faster and quicker and more agile. Now, Sam, like all of the idiots who think he is good enough to start, will think he is good enough already and he will not make it as a player.

Dallas is on board with the NFL and is saving face for the league. Mike Sam is going to be the loser in this experiment.

Jerry continues to build the media driven money machine that is the Cowboys. He openly talks about his team’s dollar value and mass popularity. He hasn’t been seriously interested in pursuing SB’s for quite a while now. The Sam acquisition is just the latest example of this. Just recently it was JJ’s declared desire (in an interview) to select Manziel (another grab for attention) but was overridden by everyone in the War Room. He calls it his biggest mistake. And most ironically JJ says he wants to be remembered as a “football guy”. JJ is smart in many ways but he is clueless when it concerns being a GM. Even as players leave Dallas (Orton, Ratliff etc.) because of the circus atmosphere JJ stands tall. He is in deep denial. He makes money but he hasn’t learned anything in 25 years as a GM. He is to be pitied.

I wasn’t taking any shots at the Cowboys. But since you fans want to whine about it, I’ll make the prediction…

Pink Sam Cowboys jerseys will be their biggest seller.

casualmalexlfan says:Sep 3, 2014 2:46 PM

“This is about Jerry Jones.” a reluctant Jason Garret admits.

olcap says:Sep 3, 2014 3:03 PM

Now that Michael Sam has been signed to a practice squad and had a press conference about it, I imagine that each and every week there will be lots of stories in all the media about “Will Michael Sam be activated to the roster this week?” This will go on and on and on.

Which will be yet another milestone for the first openly gay player:
1. Drafted in 7th round by a team that had absolutely no need or place for him, even on the PS.
2. After being cut, gets signed to a team’s PS in arguably the biggest freak show in the NFL
3. First rookie PS member who will get press each week wondering if “this is the week” like it’s inevitable (which it is)?